Spring-clip for the cutting apparatus of mowers, reapers, &amp;c.



PATENTED JUNE 23, 1903.

. l i J. W. PRIDMORE. SPRING CLIP POB. THE CUTTING APPARATUS 0F MOWERS, REAPERS, zo.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 24, 1902.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

N0 MODEL.

` PATENTBD JUNE 23, 1903.

-J. W. PRIDMORE. SPRING CLIP FOR THE CUTTING-APPARATUS 0F MOWBRS, REAPERS, &o.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 24, 1902.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

.no uonm..

No. ceneri.

VUNITED STATES 'Patented June 2s, 190e.

j PATENT FFICE.

.TOI-IN W. PRIDMORE, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO INTERNATIONAL HARVESTER COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY. e

SPRING-CLIP FOR THE CUTTING APPARATUS F MOWERS, REAPERS, dic.

SPECIFICATION formingpart OfALetters Patent N 0. 731,611, dated June 23, 1903. Application filed September 24, 1902. Serial No. 124,632. (No model.)

1o enable others skilled in the art to whchit appertains to make and use the same.

The invention relates to the clips that are commonlyemployed for holding the cutters of mowers, reapers, and the like in working contact with the ledger-plates on the guardiingers, and it has to do'more particularly with springclips, bymeans of which the cut` ters are held elastically down on the guards.

In the present improvement the clip comzo prises a plate -like finger, which does not move horizontally with the cutters, but is arranged to fulcrum on the finger-bar in a vertical plane, and is provided with a spring, by means of which its forward end is held downwardly on the cutters.

and protected by a cap that is secured to the ingerdoar, and the finger may be fulcrumed directly on the bar or indirectly thereon through the intermediacy of the cap. lTwo 3o constructions are illustrated herein. In one of these constructions the fulcrum is on the front edge of the cap, about midway of the length of the finger, and thespriugis located behind the fulcrum and reacts between the finger-bar and the under sideof the rear end of 'the finger. In the other construction the fulcrurn is directly on the iinger-bar at the rear end of the clip-finger, and the spring islocated in front of it'. The reactionl of the 4o spring in thelatter case is between the upper side of the clip-linger and the cap, and in the first-described construction it is between the under side of the clip-finger and the fingerbar, as above described; but the reaction in both cases is reallyebet'ween the finger-bar and the clip-finger, the cap being to all intents and purposes a part of the bar.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this 5o specification, wherein- The linger is housed Figure 1 is a perspective view of a part of a cutting apparatus, showing my clip in place. Fig. 2 is a vertical cross-section on the line 2 2 of Fig. l. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the clip finger detached. Fig. 4- shows a 55 Amodified construction of the clip in perspective. Fig. 5 is a vertical cross-section of this form on the line 5 5, Fig. 4. Fig. 6 is a detailed perspective of the forln of finger shown in Figs. 4 and 5.

Referringto the views, ct denotes the fingerbar; b,theguardflngers; c,thecutterbar,and d the cutters or knife-sections. These parts, together with the wear-plate e, are of the usual construction and arrangement.

The clip comprises a plate-like fingerfand a housing or cap g. The finger is made broad and at at its end to provide ample wearingsurface and so that it will overlap the adjacent edges of the cutter-sections at the V- 7o shaped spaces between them. The cap is secured to the finger-bar by bolts g', passing through ears or wings h, projecting from its opposite ends. The front ends of these wings project over the rear edge of the cutters, as shown at h', and prevent the rear edges of the cutters from leaving their bearing on the plate e. The cap is of a generally box-like form and constitutes ahousing forand means of securing the clip-nger to the finger-bar. 8o It is provided on its upper side with a domeshaped projection t', the purpose of which will be described later on, and the end of the `cap is open at the front, so as to permit the clip-finger to project beyond it and over-well forward onto the cutter-sections.

As shown in Figs. l, 2, and 3, the cap is provided with a turned-down lip or edge l atits front side, and the clip-ingerf is formed with a transverse groove or depressionj, so that the linger fits snugly between the lower edge of the lip of the cap and the wear-plate e. The lip l therefore forms afulcrum upon which the clipfinger may rock slightly. Moreover, it closes the front end of the cap 9s and prevents the entrance of dust, dirt, dac. The rear end of the clip-inger is provided with a cup-shaped recess 7c, and a coil-spring k', which is seated on a button Z, set loosely on the wear-plate, is looselyinclosed and conroo fulcrum 7" and performs the sameoflice.

fined by said recess. The wings Zt of the cap have vertical flanges h2 projecting forwardly and upwardly at the sides of the tu rned-down edge Z, the object being to prevent sidewise movement of the clip-finger and to give additional wearing-surface for the edges ot' the nger as the cutter-bar reciprocates instead of allowing the sides of the cap to resist the tendency to lateral movement of the nger, caused by the reciprocation of the cutters. The dome-like formation t' on the upper side of the housing or cap g is provided forthe purpose of receiving the cup-shaped projection Zr, on the rear end of the clip-finger.

Referring now to Figs. 4, 5, and 6, the nger-bar a., the guard-finger b, the cutter-bar c, the cutters (Land the wear-plate e are of precisely the same construction as in the first three figures. The clip, however, is modified to the extent of locating the fulcrumj at the rear end of the finger and directly on the bar u instead of on the cap or housing about midway of the ends of the finger, as in the construction first described. The housing or cap g has a dome t' near its front edge instead of at the rear, as in the 1irst-described construction, and the spring 7a2, which is inclosed in the dome, bears downwardly upon the clip-fingerf at a point forward of its fulcrum instead of in the rear thereof, as shown in Fig. 2. In either case the action of the spring is to hold the front end of the clip-1inger down upon the cutters, and the only difference in the two forms is the constructional one of changing the clip-finger from a lever of one order to that of another.

The objectof the broad fiat bearing-surface fS has been already described, and both forms of the finger are preferably arched, as shown in all the figures,to providea free passage-way for the rivets, by means of which the cutters are secured to the cutter-bar.

It is desirable in both constructions to provide some means for positively preventing the linger from working forwardly out from under the cap. In the construction shown in Fig. 2 the depending front edge Z, which forms the fulcrum for the finger, performs this office in connection with the shoulder ,i2 on the finger in rear of the transverse groove j. In the construction shown in Fig. 5 a bar Z3, extending across the cap from side to side, cooperates with the downwardly-projecting The rear edge of the wear-plate c or any other projection on the finger-bar would do the same thing. The spring k2 in the construction shown in Fig. 5 also incloses an acornshaped button Z4, which like the other projects within the coils of the spring and has a flanged head upon which the lower coil of the spring rests, the object being to keep the spring upright and prevent it from tilting and becoming otherwise disarranged.

The construction being as thus described, it will be noted that the cutters are held elastically'down on the guard-fingers by means of a clip-finger which does not oscillate as the cutter-bar reciprocates, also that the finger is rigid and unyielding and derives its elasticity from the spring that is inclosed by thev domelike projection of the housing. The finger is not connected to the cap or the finger-bar by pivot-pins or hinges, butisloosely fulcrumed, as above described, and held down in working position by the housing or cap, so that on removal of the latter. the finger is free to be disengaged from both the cutters and the finger-bar.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is- 1. The combination with the finger-bar and cutters of mowers, reapers and the like, of a spring-clip comprising a cap or housing, a finger fulc'rumed on the finger-bar and partly covered by the cap, and a spring holding the front end of the finger elastically down on the cutters.

2. The combination with the finger-barand cutters of mowers, reapers and the like, of a spring-clip comprising a box-like cap or housing, a rigid finger loosely fulcrumed on the finger-bar and projecting'beyond the cap over the cutters, and a spring under the cap for holding the front end of the finger elastically down on the cutters.

3. The combination with the finger-bar and cutters of mowers, reapers and the like, of a spring-clip comprising a box-like cap or housing having a turned-down lip or edge at its front side, a finger fulcrumed on the said turn ed-down edge, and a spring under the cap behind the fulcrum pressing upward against the rear end of the finger and holding its front end down on the cutters.

4E. The combination with the finger-bar and cutters of mowers, reapers and the like, of a spring-clip comprising a box-like cap orhousing g, open at its front side, and having the turned-down lip or edge Z, and the ears or projections h2 at the sides thereof, a finger f havinga transverse depressionj coperating with the turned-down edge Z ot' the cap, and a spring 7.a reacting against the under side of the rear end of the clip-finger to hold its front end down on the cutters.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

` JOHN W. PRIDMORE. Witnesses:

CHAs. N. CHAMBERS,

WM. WEBBER.

IIO 

